Bidder 70 from Gage & Gage Productions on Vimeo.
Mountainfilm in Telluride’s featured guests come from all over the globe to appear at the festival. One of the guests this weekend is traveling all the way from…Ophir? Drew Ludwig, photographer and mountain guide, lives a mere 15 minutes from Telluride by car (or 4-6 hours on skis).
Ludwig is just one of the locals who are being featured at Mountainfilm; his contribution to the festival is a photo exhibit at Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, a chronicle of a 120-mile walk he took from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico. He spent August of 2010, on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and about the time the BP oil spill was being capped, shooting images of the region. He uses gloves belonging to the humanitarians and workers as his focus in this powerful and tender exhibit.
Local documentary filmmakers George and Beth Gage will be giving a sneak preview screening of Bidder 70, a work in progress that tells the story of Tim DeChristopher. DeChristopher, who will also be a featured guest, is famous for an act of civil disobedience he committed in Utah, bidding on oil and gas leases to rescue them from development. DeChristopher was convicted in federal court and awaits up to ten years in prison for his environmental activism. DeChristopher not only saved the lands (they have since been withdrawn from the lease process) he also stoked the country’s smoldering eco-activism and has inspired legions of like-minded people to stand up for their beliefs. This preview and this guest are a must-see.
Telluride folks will also recognize some other familiar faces. Kim Havell, the grinning skier often featured in local visitor guides and resort advertisements, is a member of the Salomon free-ski team. Havell appears in Berber Turns, a short film that follows Havell and a couple of other ski mountaineers as they travel from Marrakesh to the Atlas Mountains to explore and plunder seldom-skied terrain. Also on hand at Mountainfilm 2011 are former locals Ace Kvale and Timmy O’Neill. Kvale is an esteemed outdoor photographer and O’Neill is a well-known climber and athlete who has appeared in many films, including Brothers Wild, which screened at last year’s Mountainfilm festival.
And that’s just some of the local flavor at this year’s event. Terry Tempest Williams, Nicholas Kristof, Tom Shadyac, Bill McKibben and other exciting guests will be there in person and there is a whole new slate of inspiring and amazing films to see—visit Mountainfilm in Telluride’s website for more details.
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